Projects 2020+

[korocite]

Modelling diaries have been a challenge for me. The rigmarole of getting photos into posts has always annoyed me. Any time spent on this activity is time that could have been spent painting or playing. With this new website, getting the photos into the post is much easier so I intend to have a better go at it. 
 

Kings of War, X Wing and 40k are the main games that I play, but often I just paint something different for no other reason than I enjoy it. That being said, having a reason to paint something in particular always motivates me to get it done. Lately, that reason has been a slow 40k campaign that Big and I have created. He has chronicled this in his modelling diary so I won’t repeat it all here. The basic story is that two opposing Inquisitors (Tasetus and Dile) have set down on a verdant green planet in order to search for STC fragments amongst the ruins of an old imperial city. Tasetus is a bit of a Puritan. Dile is a bit more .  .  . free spirited. Tasetus has some help from both the Iron Hands and Imperial Guard. Dile has commandeered multiple Astartes units to achieve his goals. His story follows shortly.

Big had already put together pretty much everything he required to get going, while I only had two units of marines done. Essentially I had to build an army to get going. Fortunately, the planet on which the fun takes place was teeming with life so we played with Tasetus making planet fall first (while I hastily prepared Dile and co).

 

 

 

 

Edited September 29, 2022 by korocite

[korocite]

 

Confidential Report requested by Ultramarines Second Company Chaplain Elianu Trajan.

Subject; Inquisitor Ono Dile and the Knights of the Rising Sun Chapter

Author;  Inceptor Vedic Etet

 

Data Transcript; Knights of the Rising Sun 

 

Acting Chapter Master; Inquisitor Ono Dile

 

Origins; claimed to be from our own illustrious Ultramarines (unsubstantiated)

 

Heraldry; the original colour scheme of Knights in white satin has been quartered with deep purple to reflect their renewed devotion to the Emperor. The chapter has retained their original symbol, though it is unclear whether it represents three vertical columns, or the numeral III. 

 

Chapter size; approximately seventy Astartes (unconfirmed).

 

Home world; unknown, and irrelevant given the current state of the Chapter.

 

Traits; highly disciplined, perfect execution through meticulous planning. It is difficult to define whether the Rising Suns draw  more from the sanguine or the phlegmatic, but they are not prone to the choler that marks Chapters like the Black Templars and Space Wolves.

 

 

History

 

To understand the Knights of the Rising Sun, one must also investigate the recent history of their acting Chapter Master, Inquisitor Ono Dile. 

 

Epistolary Dile was one of the Rising Sun's librarians and most learned historian. He was serving on one of the chapter's smaller vessels during the Battle of Agamna 666.M38, which claimed the lives of almost the entire chapter including Chapter Master Navise Asp. The details of the conflict were somewhat unclear - reports from the Rising Sun did not correlate with those of our brothers from the Imperial Eagles who were also involved, albeit in limited capacity. The calamitous events of those weeks left the Rising Sun chapter almost completely destroyed with a casualty rate of over 90%. Dile survived the conflict along with a handful of other marines. The loss of geneseed was so great that the High Lords of Terra declared the Knights of the Rising Sun to be doomed to extinction. 

 

The High Lords were at a loss as to what to do with the chapter. Epistolary Dile, loathe to let his fate rest in the hands of mere mortals, volunteered to be subjected to the trials required to become an Inquisitor. Further, he proposed that the remaining Rising Sun marines form the core of his retinue. The High Lords agreed to Dile's proposal. After extensive testing, Ono was found to be adequate to the role of Inquisitor without being exceptional. He then embarked on his new career as an enforcer of Imperial law. True to his word, he kept his fellow Rising Sun marines around him at all times. They formed an autonomous, elite, heavily armed cadre, capable of dealing with situations that most other Inquisitors would have difficulty resolving without calling in reinforcements. Losses were few given the hardy nature of the Astartes but even so, his retinue gradually diminished. Though not openly, they became known as the Knights of the Living Dead.

 

For several decades Dile and the Rising Sun Knights pursued and destroyed heretics and traitors. Their record was equal to that of more experienced Inquisitors. For six decades the Eye of Terra watched Dile's every move. As his string of victories grew ever longer, so the Eye turned its attention to other matters. It was then, that Inquisitor Dile slowly altered his methods for carrying out his duties.

 

His earliest known example of deviancy began with him approaching Castellan Zargo, Chapter Master of the Angels Encarmine to request the extended loan of a squad of marines to bolster his force for an upcoming campaign. Zargo was honour bound to assist a brother chapter in need, and duty bound to accede to an Inquisitor's requests. Even so, he graciously granted Ono's request. Dile treated the inducted Angels as his own. He went to great lengths to ensure that they worked closely with his fellow Rising Suns, while simultaneously exploiting their zeal for close combat. Within a few months he had a cohesive force that was now capable of dealing with significantly larger threats. 

 

Over the following decades, Inquisitor Dile continued to requisition both Astartes and military hardware from the many chapters of the space marines. There were times when his requests were granted willingly, but more often they were met with reluctance, suspicion or even hostility. Dile's methods were inscrutable. He would study both the history of a chapter and the records of its units before selecting which unit to induct into his small force. There were times when he would choose a highly disciplined unit with an exemplary tally of kills, but other times he would requisition the squad with the worst record or even a unit doing penance for some infraction. There is no known occurrence of the inducted marines being returned to their parent chapter. It is also interesting to note that the decline in the number of Rising Sun Astartes appears to have halted, though it has proven  impossible to achieve an accurate count while remaining within the parameters of the operational mandate.

 

Commentary

 

Inquisitor Dile's name is not widely known throughout the Imperium. Amongst those that do know him, opinion of his character is divided. Some hail him a visionary for he has the remarkable ability to take disparate elements and meld them together into an elite force. His detractors are critical of both his methods and his motives. There are whisperings that he intends to use his authority as Inquisitor re-create a chapter of old comprising many thousands of marines. Some say that he will not stop until he has recruited a squad of Astartes from every space marine chapter. While this notion is clearly preposterous, the thought of one man commanding ten thousand Astartes is chilling. One thing is clear, his methods are unorthodox and so warrant close scrutiny. We must watch our own.

 

Edited April 8, 2020 by korocite

[korocite]

[Krefey]

Looking good mate.  Like seeing some background for it as well.

[Magos Kasen]

Nice work, love the old school army! 

[Evilgnome]

Great looking army. Looks diverse and colourful.

[korocite]

Thanks for the comments. It is definitely an unusual army. It is somewhat inspired (at least visually) by the stories of King Arthur and the knights of the round table. Not much green or yellow in there yet, but that will come. I plan to add a couple of units of scouts, four more tactical squads and some devastators, so there is plenty of scope for more colour. 

[korocite]

The latest unit for Inquisitor Dile is from the Praetors of Orpheus chapter. The Praetors are said to be second only to the mechanicum in their knowledge of all things, well, mechanical . Our campaign rules give a bonus to units with advanced technology. Tasetus has his techmarines and engineers to fill that role but a Dile has not had anything like this until now.

 

 The real reason I painted them up is that I like the colour scheme and had ten of the relevant shoulder pads. 
 

 

[Krefey]

Noice 🙂

[Gamoholic]

Very cool colour scheme

[korocite]

Something a bit different. I was given this kit as one of three model car gifts about five years ago but have only now felt the motivation to put it together. 1970 Pontiac Firebird. I have not done many cars thus far. It’s a steep learning curve. Mistakes were made.
 

 

[Thenothas]

Looks alright. What scale is it?

 

[korocite]

Revell 1/24 It's not terrible, and a definite improvement on the first car I put together. But there is enough wrong that I feel motivated to do another car. 

[BIG]

Wish you had told me you had a painting blog going on.  I would have dropped by a lot sooner.....I really like Dial and his forces, although my poor Orks are still smarting from that Terminator assault.  Now as soon as they find their Warboss they will be back to kick some Marine heads.

I quite like the car.  Did you use brush or air brush?

[korocite]

I think the warboss is finding it hard to pull himself together. Powerfists can do that 😜.

 

The Firebird was painted with a rattle can. I'm getting pretty lazy with the airbrush. 

[korocite]

This unit has been on the go for months and only needed the chapter symbols to be finished. It will make a nice addition to Inquisitor Dile’s growing collection of marines.

 

 

[Krefey]

They look great! 

[korocite]

Something a bit special today. My good friend Big donated this command squad to Dile’s cause. He painted them himself and did a superb job of it.

Acting Chapter Master Deveep watched the approach of Inquisitor Ono Dile from atop the granite throne in the Hall of the Few. The Librarian-Inquisitor's reputation had reached Deveep and he was apprehensive. "Surely he cannot be here to make demands of us?" he said in a low voice to Ored Brow, first of his honour guard. "Even the Inquisitor must know that our chapter is so greatly depleted of brothers that we cannot afford to give him aid." 

    Ored Brow, in an equally soft, and slightly bored voice reassured Deveep. "Maybe he only requires information, or supplies." Ored Brow was as dedicated as any brother of any honour guard, but had grown restless from inactivity. With the chapter brought to its knees by the destruction of their home world Libethra, the Angels Revenant were in the midst of decades long rebuilding of their chapter. Simulated battle and endless drill were a poor substitute for meaningful action and Ored Brow was hungry for it.

     "He is not known for his tact. We shall soon find out" observed Deveep drily. 

    The Inquisitor approached the throne. "Greetings master Deveep. I have come seeking your aid." 

    Deveep felt a slight chill. "Inquisitor Dile" he nodded, but never took his eyes off the man.  What do you require?"

    "Apothecary Cordot" Dile said simply in his deep baritone.

    "We are sorely in need of his skills" returned Deveep. He was annoyed by the demand, but knew he was getting off lightly. "He will be missed." He paused for a moment. "If that is all you wish to discuss, I will have him sent to you directly. I have many other matters of importance to attend to." Deveep began to rise from the throne.

    "And your honour guard."

    Deveep sat back and was for a moment dumbstruck. He looked down into the palms of his own hands. "At this time, the hour of our greatest need?" His face lifted to look at Dile. He was incredulous and either did not care that it showed, or was unable master his choler. "You would take from me my personal guard? My closest brothers who have fought with me in myriad battles, through countless campaigns? Why not take my finest warrior too? Or the bearer of our chapter's illustrious standard?" he said with biting sarcasm.

    "Cinopham and Dradstan?" The Inquisitor gave this a moment's thought. "Yes. They will be useful."

    Deveep jumped to his feet, seeming to leap off the throne. "You go too far Inquisitor Dile!" he roared with fists clenched tightly.

    Dile's reply was dulled by repetition, "By the authority vested in me by the Emp-" 

    "I know! I know!" Deveep raged. "You can take from me whomever, whatever you want."

    Dile nodded to the irate man. "Then I will take my leave. Please have them sent to my ship immediately." As he turned to go, Dile noticed a slight flicker of amusement on the face of Ored Brow before he too turned to leave the hall to gather his few possessions. 

 

 

Edited November 20, 2020 by korocite

[BIG]

They come up nice with the finished bases. Although what flash are you using? It hurts my eyes. 

[korocite]

15 hours ago, BIG said:

They come up nice with the finished bases. Although what flash are you using? It hurts my eyes. 

Funnily enough, no flash. I am using the phones camera but have been experimenting with lights at different angles. I’m not completely happy with the results either. Depth of field is a bit rubbish.

[BIG]

The light seems very yellow. What sort of light is it? I think it needs to be on the cooler spectrum in the white/blue range. 

[chromedog]

What phone?
White balance can be altered on many of the phone camera apps (or at least fixed in post with editors).

 

[korocite]

iPhone, I think it’s a seven

[chromedog]

This link might be helpful for you.
https://iphonephotographyschool.com/white-balance/

My own phone has WB settings for the camera, or I can alter it using the editing app - failing that, my copy of lightroom usually does the heavy lifting for me. 
 

 

 

[korocite]

8 hours ago, chromedog said:

This link might be helpful for you.
https://iphonephotographyschool.com/white-balance/

My own phone has WB settings for the camera, or I can alter it using the editing app - failing that, my copy of lightroom usually does the heavy lifting for me. 
 

 

 

Thank you, this looks helpful. I might go back and have a play with some old photos to see if I can improve on them.

Edited November 22, 2020 by korocite